Sonic the Hedgebaby
by Aries MCMXCIII
Summary: When Tails' new machine malfunctions, Sonic is turned into a toddler! Will Amy and the others be able to retrieve all seven Chaos Emeralds to undo the machine's effects? Sonamy, Knuxrouge, Tailscream. CHAP 8 UP!
1. The Strange Machine

**Hey y'all readers! My first fanfic! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic characters or the Chaos Emeralds. They are copyright Sega.**

**Chapter 1 – The Strange Machine…**

"Tails, it has been **hours**! Are you done working on that machine yet?" complained an irritated Sonic. Little did he know that when Tails invited him over to test out his new machine, he would be waiting for a while. The fact that Tails needed him to gather ALL seven Chaos Emeralds didn't help Sonic's little patience, but he still delivered all of the Emeralds to Tails upon his arrival.

"Chill out Sonic, I have one more adjustment to make," replied Tails calmly as he placed the final Chaos Emerald into his machine. "There, it's finished!"

"Now, what did you say this thing did again?" Sonic asked, getting up from the couch he was laying down on.

"It will make the person who uses it progress to the age specified. Now please, step into that section over there Sonic," Tails directed, pointing to one area of the machine.

"I don't know Tails…first of all; you haven't even tested this thing yet. Secondly, what use would I have of being a few years older than I am now?"

"Hmm…." Tails began to think. "Oh, ok Sonic, you don't have to do this. I just thought you would want that extra speed, plus a bigger appetite. All those chilidogs you would be able to eat… but we can't change your mind so, oh well."

Sonic began to drool at the mention of his favorite food. "More ch-chilidogs?? Well why didn't you tell me sooner! Lets fire this bad boy up and see what its got!"

Tails chuckled. "I thought you'd see it my way. Now Sonic, I think the Chaos Emeralds are going to scatter again after I use the machine, but with your enhanced…'skills'… it should be no problem to gather them again. I'm gonna set it to 16 years old; just to be safe for the first test. Engaging age acceleration! Get ready Sonic!"

Sonic gave his trademark grin as a light smoke covered his body. Tails waited eagerly to see if his brilliant invention had worked. After about a minute, the smoke began to clear.

Tails instinct told him to look up, expecting Sonic to be a bit taller than he was previously. What he saw was a bit of a shock to him. There was no one up there! Looking to where Sonic had been a minute ago, Tails' mouth fell open in utter disbelief.

Sonic was sitting on the floor, a tiny hedgehog looking little more than a year old.

Tails began to panic. "OMG what went wrong?? I had everything set to the specific calculations!" Tails didn't notice that the Chaos Emeralds, like he predicted, came loose of the machine and scattered to the far ends of the Earth.

He looked to the back of the machine and, to his horror and supreme embarrassment, noticed that two of the cables were in the wrong slots. Tails smacked his forehead in anger. Sonic had not been turned into a 16 year old, he had been turned into a 16 MONTH old!

"How could I have done something that stupid?!" Tails raged at himself. Then he remembered that he could reverse the negative effects of his machine by operating it again but…

"Argh! We need all seven Chaos Emeralds again! How are we supposed to get them with Sonic being a toddler???"

Meanwhile, Sonic began to explore Tails' basement lab looking for something to play with. To Tails surprise, Sonic was nearly as fast as he was when he was 15. After Sonic had explored the lab, he climbed up onto the couch and almost immediately fell asleep.

Tails sighed and thought, _Yep that's Sonic all right._

"Tails! Are you down there?" came an overexcited female voice that Tails immediately recognized as Sonic's overexcited, self-proclaimed girlfriend, Amy Rose. As Amy reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran over to give Tails a friendly hug.

"Hi Amy," said Tails.

"Soooo... where's this machine that you wanted to show me? You told me my Sonikku would be here to test it out!" Amy went into fangirl mode, oblivious to the sleeping Sonic on the couch.

"Err…yeah…Amy about that…something went wrong with the machine when I tested it on Sonic…" Tails stammered.

"OH NO! Tails what happened to Sonic??? Where is he??? Lemme see him!" Amy almost shrieked.

Tails shushed her while he gulped and reluctantly pointed to the couch where toddler Sonic was lightly snoring. Amy just stood there, with a confused look on her face.

She must have not believed him since she asked, "Aww he is so cute! Tails, whose baby is that? He looks just…like…" Amy's voice dragged off and She walked over to the blue baby and picked him up, careful to not wake him.

"This…is Sonic?" Amy whispered to Tails. He nodded.

"I checked my machine and noticed that I put two of the cables in the wrong slots—"

Tails got cut off.

"YOU WHAT?????" Amy screamed, forgetting about Sonic in her arms. He began to lightly cry as the pink hedgehog had woken him from his nap.

"Oops…shh Sonic don't cry…" Amy whispered as she rocked him slowly. He yawned, the sleep re-gathering in his eyes. He gazed up at her with curious eyes, then smiled his biggest smile and fell asleep again.

"Tails, do you think he remembers us, or was his memory taken away?" Amy asked.

"Well seeing as he didn't try to run away or avoid you, I'm thinking that he doesn't remember," Tails replied, shrugging.

Amy thought for a moment. "Can this be reversed, or will he be stuck that way until he grows up?"

Tails memory clicked in his brain. "Ah, yes! This machine can reverse the effects but…we need all seven of the Chaos Emeralds, Amy."

She sighed. "All of them? This is gonna be harder than I thought. Anyway, do you know anything about taking care of a child?"

Tails lightly blushed. "Not really, I didn't really see the point in learning right now. Why do you ask……oh yeah…"

"Well, I took a course on babysitting, plus I used to baby-sit my cousin's child when she worked all day. I have toys that he would love to play with. Sonic can come live in my apartment for a while until we go out to find the Emeralds," Amy suggested.

He thought for a minute. "Hmm that's actually not a bad idea. Thanks Amy!"

She smiled at him. "No problem, Tails. Can you make a device that will help us locate the Chaos Emeralds? Maybe use that fake Emerald you made a while ago to lock into the energy level?"

He nodded in agreement. Amy bid him goodbye and carried Sonic over to her apartment. While she was walking, she looked down at his royal blue fur and quills and thought, _Aww, he looks so cute even when he's sleeping. I wonder if he'll thank me when we bring him back to normal…maybe not. That's not really Sonic's style. _Thinking this, she frowned sadly.

By the time she reached her apartment, Sonic had begun to wake up and was rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

She smiled at him and said, "Hi, Sonikku! Did you have a good nap?" Surprising her, he nodded once. _Maybe he might not remember me, but it looks like he still has some advanced capabilities for a baby,_ she thought.

She didn't know the half of it.

**Whew! Just to let everyone know, I have chapters 1-7 completed, and I will post the next chapter each day, so come back to read! **

**R&R! If you must flame, please dont burn me alive:)**


	2. Quality Time

**Gravekeeper's Fanfic Author: Thanks! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic char's or Chaos Emeralds. **

**Chapter 2 – Quality Time Together**

After setting him down on the couch, Amy walked upstairs to her room to look for something for him to play with. Finding some toys in an old chest in her closet, she brought them downstairs to find that Sonic was no longer sitting peacefully on the couch.

"Oh Soooonnic, where did you gooo?" Amy said with a singsong voice. She walked into her kitchen to find him scavenging her refrigerator for something to eat. Some cheese and cold cuts were on the clean, tiled floor.

She laughed, "Oh you silly baby. Here, let me get you something to eat before we play."

He giggled while she strapped him into an old high-chair that she took out. Unfortunately, Amy didn't have any soft foods for Sonic. She noticed he did have some of his baby teeth and wondered if hard foods would be okay for him to eat. Thinking hard, she remembered his favorite food was chilidogs. Smirking, Amy took out some hotdogs and began to fry them on her oven.

When they were done, she sprinkled spices over the top of them and brought them over to the table. Offering Sonic a chilidog, he took it and looked at it curiously. He sniffed it once then took a bite. A big smile spread across his face as he dug into his food.

Amy smiled, "I knew you would like it, Sonic." Grabbing a chilidog of her own, she sat down next to Sonic and helped him eat his food. They both laughed when Sonic was done; he had spices and sauce all over his face. Amy took a damp rag and cleaned it off while she unstrapped the high-chair.

When Amy picked Sonic up, he kissed her lightly on the nose. He giggled as Amy's cheeks became hot and turned almost the color of her fur.

They went into the living room where Amy gave Sonic some of the toys she took out. He seemed to like them, especially the wind-up cars that zoomed off super-fast when let go. While Amy watched him, she realized that she no longer had clothes for toddlers; she threw them out when she gave up babysitting. She did, however, have some diapers left that she never threw out for some reason. When Sonic was done playing and came over to her while yawning, she took him upstairs to her bedroom.

Finding one of the old diapers in her bathroom, Amy dressed Sonic in one of her old dresses, laughing when the red dress went way past his feet. At this time Sonic was, of course, already asleep. Amy tucked him into her bed, then lay down next to him and took out a book to read.

She looked down when she felt something press up next to her and saw Sonic cuddling next to her for warmth, snoring lightly. Amy smiled, turned off the light, and began to go to sleep with him in her arms.

Amy woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. She immediately looked to her left to see Sonic still cuddled next to her. _I shouldn't wake him up yet; let him sleep for a while. Knowing Sonic, he might be up around noon…_ she thought, looking at her alarm clock. It was already 10:30!

Carefully unhooking Sonic from her arm, she walked downstairs to make some breakfast. While she was scrambling some eggs, she heard a pair of soft feet on her floor and looked behind her to see Sonic rubbing his eyes.

Amy went over to him and picked him up. "Good morning, sleepyhead! Are you hungry for some breakfast?" Sonic nodded at her. Amy put him in the high-chair and put a small plate of scrambled eggs in front of him. As he dug into his breakfast, the phone began to ring.

Amy walked over and picked up the telephone. "Hello?"

"Hi Amy!" It was Cream, Amy's best friend who lived a few buildings down from her.

"Oh, hi Cream! How have you and Cheese been?" Cheese was Cream's chao that was usually found near its owner.

"Good! Say, Amy, do you want to go see a movie at the mall? I hear they have that new Spiderman movie out now," Cream said excitedly.

Amy heard the world 'mall' and forgot all about the child in her kitchen for a minute. "A movie? That sounds great! …Oh…yeah Cream, I forgot to tell you, I'm busy babysitting."

"Babysitting? I thought you gave that up a while ago. Who is the lucky kid that gets to spend the day with you?" Cream asked.

Amy didn't want to tell her what happened to Sonic over the phone, so- "I can't really explain it on the phone, why don't you and Cheese come over and meet him yourself?"

"Sure, Amy! I'd love to meet him! See you soon!" Cream said as she hung up the phone.

Amy put the phone back in its charger and walked over to where Sonic had finished his eggs. He held the plate out in front of him, as if asking for more.

"Of course you can have more, Sonikku, you can have all that you want to eat!" As she placed a new plate in front of him, she said, "Guess what? Cream and Cheese are gonna come over here to play with us!"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Amy walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Cream and Cheese.

Amy hugged her best friend. "Hey, Cream! Hi, Cheese! Come in, make yourselves at home!"

"Thanks! So, where's this kid that you somehow cannot describe him on the phone?" Cream teased. Amy led her to the kitchen, where Sonic was still sitting in his high-chair, eating the eggs. Amy took him out of it and passed him to Cream. Sonic looked up at her curiously, and then began playing with one of Cream's long rabbit ears. Cheese floated next to the child and looked at it in Cream's arms.

"Aww, that is so cute! You know….he kinda reminds me of someone I know…now who could it be?" Cream thought for a minute while looking at his royal blue fur. "OH, he looks just like Mr. Sonic! Even his quills are styled the same way! Whose baby is he, Amy?"

"Well, Cream, I know you might not believe me but….that IS the real Sonic." As Amy said this, Cream just looked at her. Cream apparently did not panic as Amy had done when she first heard the news. Cream handed Sonic back to Amy, and then proceeded to faint right in front of her.

Amy sweatdropped. _So much for not panicking… _Sonic looked down at the unconscious rabbit on the floor, then yawned and fell asleep in Amy's arms yet again. After she laid Sonic on her bed, she went to wake up Cream. Getting some cold water from her sink, Amy let a few droplets hit the rabbit's forehead. Cream shot up a few seconds afterward.

"Oh Amy, I was having such a weird dream! I came over here and Sonic was a baby and you were babysitting him and…and…" Cream sighed as she saw where she was. "It…wasn't a dream…was it?"

Amy shook her head. "No Cream, it wasn't."

"How did this happen to him…and why is he staying over at your house?"

Amy's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "Something went wrong with Tails' age-changing machine and turned him younger instead of older. He's staying at my house because Tails, being a guy, doesn't know anything about taking care of kids. The only way to reverse this is to gather up all of the Chaos Emeralds again to power the machine."

Cream's eyes lit up immediately. "The Chaos Emeralds? …Wait! That's right! I found this in the park while I was taking a stroll yesterday! I was going to show you later." The rabbit pulled the Green Chaos Emerald out of her bag that she brought. Amy squealed.

"Cream, you are a lifesaver! This will cut down majorly on the time we need to spend getting these!"

"Well it's only one Emerald Amy…it won't really cut down much of the time searching for them," Cream stated.

"Tails is building a device that will point us to the rest of the Emeralds," Amy continued, "and this will give him a more accurate signal to lock onto. He was originally going to use that fake emerald he created and hope it would work, but we could give him this instead."

"Well, then what are we waiting for," Cream said cheerfully, "get Sonic and lets bring this over to Tails' house!"

Amy walked upstairs and peeked in the room to see that Sonic was still sleeping. She scooped him up, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door with Cream and Cheese.

**R&R! This time, I'd like at least two reviews until the next chapter!**


	3. The Locator and the New Word

**Keeping all these chapters to myself is boring! Y'all wanted updates, I'll post all the chapters I have finished **

**Nyago: Thanks!**

**Sonikka: I know different games have diff ages, but I'm stickin to 15 for now. And the part w/ Cream fanting was supposed to be funny ) Thx!**

**KnuxnDeppfan4life: Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Chapter 3 – The Locator and the New Word**

"Hey Amy, why do you always chase Sonic all over the place? I mean, he always runs away and avoids you, if it were me, I would have given up on him a long time ago," Cream said out of nowhere as they were walking to Tails' house.

"Well, Cream, I ask myself that question sometimes. I suppose it is because…I love him. Sure, he might be coarse, uncaring, and sometimes even nasty to me, but I know that's not the way he really feels. I wish that someday Sonic will love me back the same way I love him," Amy replied as she gently stroked his quills with her free arm. He seemed to like that and relaxed somewhat in her arms and continued sleeping.

They arrived at Tails' house a little while later. Sonic was awake by this time and waited eagerly while the fox answered his door. When Tails saw who it was, he grinned.

"Hi girls! Cream, did Amy tell you who this baby is?" Tails asked while gesturing at Sonic, who was fascinated by a butterfly that was fluttering just out of his reach.

"Yes, she did Tails. May we come in?" Cream asked sweetly.

"Oh, yes, yes of course!" Tails said, slightly embarrassed. He let them come inside his house, and showed them a handheld machine that looked somewhat like a GPS device.

"This machine will absorb the energy reading of the fake Chaos Emerald that I made and it should point you in the direction of the others. Here, I'll test it out now and see where the closest Chaos Emerald is. Huh? This thing must be malfunctioning…Cream, this reading says that the closest Chaos Emerald to here is right in your bag," Tails stated, confused.

"Oh yeah, Tails we forgot to tell you that Cream found the Green Chaos Emerald in the park when she was taking a walk," Amy said while Cream produced the jewel from her bag. Tails sat there in utter disbelief, looking from Cream, to Amy, and back to Cream.

"Y-You found this, Cr-Cream?" Tails stuttered as he examined the glowing Emerald.

Cream giggled. "Yes, Tails, I'm not as helpless as you think I am."

Tails was hurt by the comment. Before he could stop himself, he said, "I don't think you're helpless Cream, I think you are one of the kindest and most helpful people I know!"

Cream's eyes shined with happiness. "Really, Tails? You think I am all those things? That's the kindest thing you have ever said to me!"

Cream leaned over and gave Tails a kiss on the cheek, which caused him to turn a deep shade of red in embarrassment. Amy laughed as she noticed his blush. Sonic and Cheese didn't notice the display as they were going through Tails' bedroom upstairs.

"Hey, Knuckles, when did you get here? I coulda sworn Tails was there a minute ago!" Amy joked, causing Tails and Cream to both blush. "Now, shall we get back to business?"

Tails composed himself, saying, "Yes, right. Now, thanks to Cream," he smiled over at her, "we have a real Emerald to hook up to this machine. This will not only tell us about Emeralds in the vicinity, but it will also pinpoint the remaining six around the world!" And with that, he placed the glowing green jewel on the scanner. A moment later, six red dots showed up on a hologram of Earth that was projected from the machine alone with holograms of the remaining emerald colors.

"So there they all are. From the looks of this, I would say the closest one to here would be on…Angel Island? Hmm…" Tails said

Amy piped in, "Tails, are you sure this thing isn't mistaking it for the Master Emerald? They do share the same energy source, and I think Knuckles would be kinda angry if we just go and take the jewel he has guarded his whole life."

Tails shook his head 'no', "This scanner, due to the extreme power of the Chaos Emerald, can detect the difference between the Chaos and Master Emeralds. The Red Chaos Emerald is apparently in one of the caves on Angel Island."

Amy took out her hot pink cell phone and called Knuckles on speed dial. He picked up after the first three rings. "Hello?" came a deep voice on the other side.

"Hi, Knux! How have you and Rouge been?" Amy asked. Rouge had moved in with Knuckles after the ARK and he didn't object. Then again, no one expected him to say no.

"We've been good, how about you, Amy? Still chasing Sonic out there?" Rouge chuckled as she spoke into Knuckles' phone.

That comment reminded Amy why she called, and put a small frown on her face. "I've been good. In fact, I'm calling about Sonic."

"Sigh Amy, if you're looking for love advice, I'm afraid I can't give any, as I have no experience in the matter," Knux replied.

"No, no it's not that. Tell this to Rouge also. Tails was making a machine that changes your age, and Sonic was testing it out. However, something went wrong and Sonic was turned into a 1 year old. The machine can reverse the effect, but we need all seven of the Chaos Emeralds. We got one so far, from Cream, who found it in the park while taking a stroll. Tails also built a machine that can track the remaining six Emeralds, and it's powered by the one we found. The scanner shows that the Yellow Emerald is in a cave on Angel Island. I called to find out if you two could go get it for us, and maybe help us look for the other Emeralds. What do you say?"

"Hmm…I don't know Amy…it's been a while since I've gone treasure hunting. But, for Sonic, I suppose I can make an exception. Me and Rouge will go look for it. Can you put Tails on so I can find out exactly which cave it's in?" both Knuckles and Rouge asked.

"Sure," Amy said, "here he is." Amy handed the phone over to Tails.

_Sonic and Cheese have been awfully quiet upstairs…maybe we should go check on them_ Amy thought. Cream seemed to have the same idea and both began to walk upstairs, leaving Tails to talk with Knuckles.

When Amy and Cream went into Tails' bedroom they found Sonic and Cheese searching through his clothes drawers and throwing the clothes all over the room. Amy, without thinking, suddenly exploded.

"SONIC! What are you doing!?" Amy yelled at the toddler, who jumped about a foot in the air before looking behind himself. Seeing an enraged pink hedgehog coming towards him, he dropped the t-shirt he was holding and held his hands to his head, as if to block an attack to his face. Amy picked him up, turned him to look her straight in the eye and said, "Going through other people's things is a no-no Sonic! You should know better than that! Now Tails has to pick all of these clothes up off the floor! What do you have to say for yourself!?"

Sonic knew he had done something wrong and began to cry. He hung his head and lay down on Tails' bed, crying into the pillow. Amy immediately felt guilty and sat down next to Sonic and began stroking his royal blue quills softly. His crying let up a little. "Oh, Sonic, I'm sorry…I just lost my temper there for a minute. I know you're just a baby, you don't realize that you're being rude by going through other people's stuff. I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did, and I apologize. Do you forgive me?" Amy asked the tiny hedgehog, who had stopped crying. Sonic walked next to Amy and hugged her, as far around as his tiny arms could reach. Amy smiled and kissed him on the forehead, then picked him up.

He giggled, and then apparently tried to say something to her. "A-A-A" Amy assumed he was trying to say her name, which made her blush. "You can do it," she encouraged him,

"A-my A-my."

Sonic tried again. "A-A-mmmeee. Amee, Amy!" Amy cheered for him, and then gave him a big hug.

"Good job, Sonic! I'm so proud of you!" she said with a smile on her face. He smiled back and repeated his new word over and over. "Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy!"

**R&R!**


	4. Emeralds, Apologies, and the Plan

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Chapter 4 – Emeralds, Apologies, and the Plan**

When the two went downstairs, they found Tails and Cream kissing passionately on the couch, who were oblivious to the hedgehogs watching them. Sonic, not understanding what was going on, made his way to the bathroom. Amy smiled and thought _Aww good job Cream, you finally got him all to yourself…you two make such a good couple_.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Seeing as those two were caught up in the moment, Amy decided to answer it herself. Knuckles and Rouge were there, each carrying a Chaos Emerald.

"Wow you guys got the Yellow and the Blue? Nice work! Where did you find the Blue one, Rouge?" Amy asked.

"Turns out the jewelry store where I shop at frequently just happened to have it. The manager thought it was an extremely large sapphire, so he attached it to a ring. I didn't tell him what it was, but since I buy a lot of jewelry there, he gave me a large discount on it," Rouge said. Then she came up to Amy and whispered, "_I'm thinking of using the ring as a wedding ring if Knux and I ever get married…"_ Her eyes twinkled brightly at the thought.

Knuckles spoke up. "So where are Tails and Cream?" Then he saw them on the couch and, not being a very good romantic, shouted, "YEAH Good Job Tails!" This, of course, startled the two so much that they moved to opposite ends of the couch, their faces each a burning red.

Rouge slapped Knux playfully on the arm saying, "Knuckles do you understand the word 'privacy'? The way you just blurt out whatever comes to your head makes me think otherwise…."

Tails forgot his embarrassment and noticed they had two Emeralds with them. "Nice, you guys got the Blue also! We're off to a good start, but we aren't done yet! We still need the Light Blue, Red, Purple, and Silver Emeralds."

Just then, Sonic stepped into the room, done with his potty break. Knuckles and Rouge stared at him before Knuckles asked, "Whose kid is that?" Amy sweatdropped, distinctly remembering that she told him what happened with the machine…and hoping he told Rouge before he forgot.

Apparently he had. "Knuckles, you must have short-term memory or something! Amy told you this when you were on the phone! I'll spell it out for you though," Rouge said playfully, while Knuckles blushed. She turned his head towards the royal blue hedgehog and said, "THAT IS SONIC!"

Knuckles looked confused still, so Rouge sighed and picked Sonic up. "Does he remember us, Amy?"

"We have to assume that he doesn't, since he hasn't shown any signs of it yet," Amy replied. "He can't even talk normally anymore, although he seems to have learned one word—" Amy was cut off as Sonic remembered his new word again. "Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy Amy!" He finished, and everyone looked at him, then at Amy.

Rouge grinned. "Aww that is so adorable!" She handed Sonic to Knuckles, whose face scrunched up, as if he were eating something sour. Sonic looked at the face of his holder, then he pulled on one of Knuckles long dreads.

"AAAAHK!!" Knuckles shouted as intense pain hit his head. He dropped Sonic out of sheer shock. "MOTHER—"

Sonic, thinking he had done something wrong again, began to sniffle. Knuckles let loose a long string of cuss words that earned him a good shout from Rouge. Amy tried to calm everyone down, but to no avail. Tails and Cream were trying to stay out of it by sitting on the couch, quietly. All of the yelling made Sonic feel worse, and he began to cry again.

Rouge shot a look at Knuckles. "Now look what you did, Knucklehead, you made him cry!" She picked Sonic up and rocked him gently, but the crying continued. "Knuckles, apologize to Sonic for dropping him and shouting at him!"

He moaned, annoyed. "Do I have to?" "YES" Rouge said to him forcefully.

"You do realize this is still the same, cocky, loudmouth Sonic we all know, right?"

Rouge gave him a death glare. "Knuckles……."

He sighed and picked up the toddler. "I'm sorry Sonic. I didn't mean to drop you and yell at you." Sonic stopped crying and hugged Knuckles neck, which caused an Aww from Cream, Amy and Rouge.

Tails spoke up. "If we are done with this drama, can we continue with the plan?" Everyone nodded. "Alright, here's what I think we should do. So far, we have the Green, Yellow, and Blue Chaos Emeralds. These scanners show that the Red Emerald is on the top of the Empire State Building in New York City. Rouge, Knuckles, since you two can fly, that one is up to you. The Silver Emerald is in France, it looks like it's in the Louvre. Amy; you and Sonic will go get that one. The Purple Emerald is in a restaurant in Northern Italy. Cream, you and I will go get that one. The Light Blue Emerald seems to be on a mountain in Utah somewhere. I don't notice any ski resorts or anything up there, but the Emerald did look like it was moving a while ago. I can only think of one reason that would be. Eggman must have a base up there."

Everyone became silent at the mention of Eggman. If he had an Emerald, he could be planning something bad for the rest for the world.

Tails continued, "I don't think any one group alone is strong enough to take on the base, so we will regroup here and then head out to Eggman's base. Any questions?" The room was silent. "Good. We'll rest up today and move out for the different Emeralds tomorrow. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep."

What happened next, absolutely nobody was ready for. Sonic, being the curious hedgehog that he is, grabbed the Yellow Chaos Emerald off of the table. He closed his eyes and next thing anyone knew, there was a bright flash of light and Sonic was gone.

**R&R!**


	5. A Flash, A Flight, And A Rotten Egg

**Disclaimer: Sonic and company is not mine, though I wish it was. I own nothing!**

**Chapter 5 – A Flash, A Flight, and A Rotten Egg**

Amy immediately recognized that flash and panicked. "OMG that was a Chaos Control! What are we going to do now??? None of us can use it, and even if we could Sonic could be anywhere in the world right now! He can't be out there alone, with no one with him! He could get hurt or kidnapped or even….NO!!!! Sonikku, COME BACK!!!!!" Tears were streaming down her face.

Rouge hated to see Amy panic like this. "Now, now Amy, I'm sure Sonic is fine! You know, I bet he will teleport back here any second now!" Her words comforted Amy a little bit, but the soft crying continued.

As if he were listening to her prediction, another flash of light appeared, revealing Sonic. Apparently he had been somewhere tropic due to the tiny Hawaiian shirt and lei that he was dressed in. Amy had not seen him reappear and was crying into her hands, saying things about how it was all her fault.

Sonic did not like to see her cry, so he hopped up next to her on the couch and gave her his biggest hug. "Amy?" he said concernedly. His voice immediately stopped her crying as her head snapped in his direction.

She squealed with joy upon seeing him. She warmly embraced the toddler as the tears flowed back. "Sonic! You're back! Oh, I was so worried about you! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" She bombarded him with a million questions as she looked him over for injuries.

All the excitement had tired Sonic out. He yawned and fell asleep while leaning on Amy. This got another round of Awws from the girls. Tails said, "Sonic's got the right idea. Sleep well everyone, we've got a big day tomorrow. After each of our missions is complete, meet back here so we can discuss how to invade Eggman's base." With that, he kissed Cream good night and went upstairs to sleep. Knuckles and Rouge said goodbye as they flew back off to Angel Island. Amy picked up Sonic as she and Cream walked back to their block.

Amy sighed. She knew it might not be the place to ask, but she had to know… "Cream?"

Cream looked back at her. "Yes, Amy?"

"What does it feel like? Loving someone and being loved back?"

Cream's cheeks flashed red. "You saw us? I didn't see you until Knuckles and Rouge came."

Amy smirked. "I let them in myself as you two were…preoccupied. So, how did it feel?"

The rabbit's eyes shone with such brilliance you could have compared it to the sun. "Oh, Amy it was wonderful! After you went upstairs, Tails came over and told me how he felt about me. I was so happy to learn that he felt that was about me the same way I feel about him! I love him…I hope we can be together forever…" Cream sighed happily.

"I only wished Sonic would act that way to me…He doesn't even realize how much pain he causes me every time he runs away…I j-just want him to love m-me the same way I l-love h-him…" Amy said as her voice broke. Cream could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. She walked over and embraced her best friend.

"Amy, you know he does! He never tells you he hates you, or he never wants to see you again! He would never hurt you and he would protect you no matter what! He just doesn't know how to tell you how he feels! Please don't cry Amy…" Cream wiped the tears off of Amy's face. The pink hedgehog smiled down at the rabbit. Cream sure did know how to cheer someone up. Sonic was still asleep as the two arrived at Amy's apartment.

"Cream, you are my true best friend, and I absolutely can't thank you enough for every thing you have done for me." Amy waved goodbye as Cream and Cheese walked off to their house.

Amy was tired after the long (and very eventful) day. She laid Sonic on her bed, changed into her nightgown, then crawled under the covers herself, slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Amy! Amy!" Sonic shrieked her name while Eggman cackled evilly. He was holding Sonic in the claw of his new giant robot.

"Muahahaha! I finally have you, Sonic the Hedgehog, and there is nothing your little girlfriend can do about it!" the fat man shouted at the top of his lungs. Amy growled at Eggman as she grabbed her Piko-Piko Hammer and prepared to attack the robot. However, the hammer bounced right off the cold metal.

Eggman laughed again. "Enough of this insolence! Say goodbye Sonic!" He squeezed the robotic hand tighter around the struggling toddler. Sonic cried as his fragile body gave way to the robot. "Amy! Amy! Amy…"

Amy couldn't believe any of this. "No…no….NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! SONIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She shot up in her bed, a cold sweat covering her face. "Sonic…huh...Was it…a dream?" Instinctively, she looked to the spot where Sonic was sleeping earlier. To her horror, the royal blue baby was no longer on her bed. She sprang out of bed and looked around her room. Sonic was not in there. "Sonic where are you!?!?"

She ran out into the living room, thinking he might be playing with one of the toys she had. He was not there either. "No…please don't tell me…" As a last resort, she checked the kitchen, thinking he might be getting some food.

She was about to call the police when she heard a small, muffled, almost inaudible sound coming from one of the drawers near the floor. Amy yanked the cabinet open, almost removing it from its hinges. There, inside, was Sonic, crying into his hands and calling her name. "Amy! Am…y?" He looked up, his face instantly brightening. "AMY!!" He jumped out of the cabinet and into her arms.

Amy looked at Sonic, then realized what must have happened. Sonic woke up with a growling stomach and, while looking for food he could have reached, got accidentally locked in the cabinet. _Phew, that was a close one. For a second, I thought that dream might not have been a dream._ She calmed him down, and then made some cereal for them. Amy decided to tell Sonic what they were doing today, even if he couldn't understand her very well.

"Guess what, Sonikku? Today, we're gonna go on an airplane and get the Chaos Emerald in France! Aw man…if you were still 15, that would be an awesome place to go on a date…" Amy stopped herself as she realized what she was saying and saw the child's confused expression.

"But I'm just spitting out random things…C'mon Sonic, let's get you all dressed up so we can catch that plane!" Amy said, excited.

_Later, At the Airport; 10 Minutes To Takeoff_

Sonic, who had never been on an airplane, even when he was older, looked curiously out the window at the large wing protruding from the side of the plane. Over the loudspeaker, the pilot's voice was heard.

"Good morning, passengers! This is the 9:00 plane flying straight to Paris, France. Fasten your seatbelts until we are at a cruising altitude and we hope that you have a good flight!"

Amy strapped her seatbelt on and held Sonic on her lap. He was still looking out the window. When the plane began to turn and get into position, he giggled and kept looking at the ground moving below him. But when the plane suddenly shot along the runway and touched off the ground, Sonic became scared for some reason. He clung to Amy as if his life depended on it. Strangely, the plane was moving slower than he could run if he really tried.

Amy comforted him and he went back to looking out at the clouds. The rest of the flight was pretty boring, except for the movie that was playing on a small screen in front of every seat (I don't care if a real flight across the Atlantic takes many hours, I don't have that kind of patience. :P).

Sonic didn't really care about it, but still sat and watched it while Amy was fascinated. When the plane was descending, blue boy watched the ground rush up at the plane. As they were exiting the plane, Sonic began to drift off again.

When she was getting a rental car, Amy woke Sonic again. She remembered that he loved those cars that she let him play with, so she decided to let him pick the color of the car. Surprising to her, he did not pick blue like she thought he would; he picked out a pink Mercedes from the lot.

Smiling, Amy paid the rental office and drove the car out of the parking garage. Luckily, the company had a seat for children built into one of the back seats just in case.

Amy was having so much fun that she forgot where Tails had told her where the Silver Chaos Emerald was. She took out her cell phone and called Tails. He picked up on the second ring. "Hello, Miles Prower," Tails said casually.

"Hey Tails," Amy greeted him.

'Oh, hi Amy. Lemme guess…you did something fun and forgot where I told you the Emerald was?"

Amy chuckled, "Bingo. So, where is it again?"

"Alright Amy, listen carefully cause I can only tell you once. Cream and I are undercover trying to sneak into this restaurant and you might blow our cover if you call at the wrong moment. The scanner said the Silver Emerald is in the Louvre, a large museum near the center of Paris. More accurately, the Emerald seems to be in the 'Mona Lisa' room. Got all that?"

"I got it, thanks Tails!" Amy hung up her telephone. She had been to Paris before, but never to the Louvre. She thought she would be able to identify the 'large museum' as Tails had put it, but she eventually needed to ask one of the Frenchmen where it was. He pointed to an extravagant building just across the street from where Amy was parked. Amy sweatdropped.

Unbuckling Sonic, she took him inside, but was stopped by two guards. One of them, presumably the higher rank, addressed her. "Bonsoir, Mademoiselle. Welcome to ze Louvre. Is zis your first time visiting our museum?" Amy nodded. "Very well, you might want to take a map to find your way around ze exhibits. Have a good time with your son!"

Amy blushed when he referred to Sonic as her son, but accepted the map from the guard. She looked for a large room where she expected the Mona Lisa to be, but she was a bit shocked to see that it was a tiny room, probably no bigger than her living room, at the end of a long hallway.

Sonic looked at the different paintings, sculptures and masterpieces curiously from atop Amy's shoulders while she rushed down the hallways. Arriving outside the room with the famous Da Vinci painting, Amy put Sonic down as they slowly walked into the room.

She looked around, but did not see the Emerald anywhere. Sonic, however, noticed that one of the lights was a different color from the rest. "Amy!" he said while pointing at the light that he suspected. She looked over to where he pointed, and saw it; the Silver Chaos Emerald was screwed into one of the light sockets, apparently being mistakenly used as a light bulb. Amy tried to reach it, but she was slightly too short. She placed Sonic on her shoulders and he reached up and twisted the Emerald out of the socket.

Amy cheered and hugged Sonic tightly, who was entranced by the glow of the gem. Moments later, a bright light surrounded the hedgehogs as Sonic Chaos Controlled them to a beach somewhere on an island.

Unbeknownst to them, Metal Sonic stepped out of the shadows just as they left. "_Identification confirmed. Bio-forms Amelia Rose and Sonic the Hedgehog confirmed. Returning to base for further instruction." _

_Meanwhile, back on the beach…_

Amy looked down at her blue hero with a smile on her face while she watched him play in the sand. Lately, she had begun to think that he HAD kept some of his memories…no…it couldn't be…could it? She dismissed the idea as she lay down on her back and relaxed.


	6. Do You Really Mean That?

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing!**

**Chapter 6 – 'Do You Really Mean That?'**

"Aw, c'mon Knuckles lighten up! It's not everyday that you get to see one of the biggest cities and some of the largest buildings in the world!" Knuckles had been grumpy since they left Angel Island yesterday, when they had to ask Tikal and Chaos if they would guard the M.E. while they were gone. Rouge was trying to cheer him up again.

"I know, I know. I just can't help but worry about the Master Emerald, are Tikal and Chaos really up to guarding it?" Knuckles asked, while Rouge frowned.

"You care more about that rock than anything else? Even…me?" she seemed to be almost on the verge of tears

"No, no, thats not what I meant!! I know I worry too much about it, and I shouldn't. There are more important things to life than guarding something for an entire lifetime. Such as love," he said before he could stop himself, and then clapped a hand over his mouth. Knuckles looked up at Rouge, expecting her to be laughing at him. Instead, she looked confused rather than mocking.

"What do you mean by that, Knuckles," she asked hopefully, "about love being more important?"

He gulped. Was this the time to admit his feelings to her? _Well, better sooner than later…_ he thought to himself. "Rouge, I care about you more than anything else in my life. If you and I hadn't met, I probably would have stuck to guarding the M.E. for my whole life. But you showed me life can be more than that. You showed me to relax and have fun, something I could have never gotten out of being a Guardian. What I guess I'm trying to say Rouge is…" he gulped again and whispered, "I Love You."

That last part was said so quietly that any normal person probably couldn't have heard it. But Rouge's extra-sensitive bat ears picked it up. She smiled brightly, a tear coming to her eye. "Knuckles…do you really mean that? You...really love me?" She had waited a long time for him to say that to her.

He smiled right back and said, "Yes, Rouge, ever since we first met, I knew you were different than other women I've met. You're kind, and caring, and someone I want to spend my entire life with. I love you."

Rouge broke down and wrapped her arms around him tightly. People in other seats in the subway car were beginning to stare, but Knuckles didn't care. He embraced Rouge back and stroked her hair with his gloved hand. She leaned forward and whispered, "_I love you too, Knuckles…"_

They looked into each others eyes deeply, until Knuckles pulled Rouge into a kiss. Everyone in the train 'Aww'ed. Rouge was a bit shocked at first, but deepened it. They pulled away a minute later, panting for breath. Rouge still had tears on her cheeks to Knuckles wiped them away.

"Here's our stop, Rouge. Let's go get that Chaos Emerald!" He offered his hand to her to help her get up. She took it and the two walked out of the subway station, hand in hand.

Rouge led the way through the city, pointing out various stores, malls, and restaurants until she finally made it to the Empire State Building. They looked up and tried to see the very top of it. It was barely visible.

"That's a really long way to fly…" Knuckles stated. He looked over at Rouge and said, "Do you want to take the elevator as far up as we can, then fly the rest?"

Rouge gave him a teasing look. "You are SO lazy, you know that? Alright, but only because my wings are tired from earlier." They had flown from Angel Island all the way to a train station since the train at Station Square did not go to New York City.

After the long elevator ride, the two emerged onto an outside section of the building surrounded by high fence. You could see the entire city from up there.

Rouge nuzzled against the crimson Echidna. "It sure is beautiful, isn't it Knuckles?"

He blushed. "Ehh, I guess it's okay. I can think of something more beautiful, though."

"Oh, really? What is it?"

Their eyes met. "You." He moved closer and their lips met for the second time in a few hours. Rouge half-opened her eyes and spotted something shiny above Knuckle's head on the building's spire. She didn't want to pull away from Knuckles, but she just had to point at what she saw.

"Look, there's the Chaos Emerald!" He turned his head and saw the jewel.

He smiled at her. "Nice eye, Rouge! I probably wouldn't have spotted that as fast as you did."

They both flew to the peak of the spire, where the sparkling red jewel rested. Knuckles picked it up. He held it in front of his face, and then looked back and forth between it and Rouge.

She looked confused. "What are you doing?"

Knuckles chuckled. "Comparing its shining beauty and radiance to you."

"And?"

He flew next to her. "You win," he said with a huge smile.

They landed back on the ground, where Rouge immediately embraced Knuckles in a strong hug. "Thank you Knuckles. You have made this day one of the best I have had in a long time."

He handed over the Emerald and said, "Rouge, can you take this and meet me back at Tails house? There's something I need to get at Angel Island first." He tried to hide a slight smirk on his face.

Rouge frowned. She had wanted to talk to him on the way back to Tails house. But…maybe he was doing something important! She could let it slide this time. "Oh, okay. See you later, Knuckie!" Rouge waved while she flew away.

_Hmm…Knuckie?...I like it!_ He thought as he walked to a jewelry store. He was gonna give her something she would never forget.

The second he walked in, he was swarmed by at least 10 different salespeople. "WHOA WHOA WHOA! Get off of me! I'm just looking for now!" Knuckles pushed them all away as he walked up to the display counter. "I need just a plain ring. I'm going to get a jewel for it myself."

The man at the counter spoke to him as if he didn't quite exist. "Ah, yes, of course. It will be $300. Cash, Check, Card?"

Knuckles pulled the crisp bills out of his wallet. "Cash." The cashier handed him a shiny gold ring. The echidna pocketed the ring, knowing Rouge would love it. There was just one more thing to get.

"Any old jewel won't be good enough. I need something special. Some kind of jewel that no one else has." An idea came into his head at that precise minute. He took his receipt and made his way back to Angel Island.

_Meanwhile, with batgirl…_

She paced the floor in Tails' house nervously. Where was Knuckles? If he went home for one thing, he should have been here by now.

At that moment, he came in the front door of Tails house. Rouge was all over him in a second.

"Where were you? What happened? Why are you late? What are you hiding behind your back?" Knuckles was trying to be inconspicuous about the box in his hands. Apparently, it hadn't worked.

Knuckles came right up next to her, saying, "Rouge, these weeks that we've been together have probably been the best I've had in my life. I want the rest of my life to be like that, with you always there right by me. That is why I am doing this now." He knelt in front of her and opened the box. Inside was the ring he had bought, topped with a large piece of the Master Emerald. Rouge just stood there, not knowing what to say. "Rouge the Bat, will you marry me?"


	7. Italy: Land of Pasta, Pizza, and Love

**Chapter 7 – Italy! Land of Pasta! Land of Pizza! Land of…Love?**

"Oh, Tails, this is so romantic!" Cream said, emphasizing the last word. The two were inside a fancy Italian restaurant, attempting to locate the Purple Emerald. So far, they were having no luck.

"Huh? Oh yea, it is," Tails replied, not even looking back at the rabbit. Cream pouted. _Why is he so cold and uncaring today? This isn't the Tails I know…_ she thought to herself. Even on the way over here, he barely noticed the lush gardens outside people houses, the boats gliding on the river (don't know what they're called), or even the Leaning Tower!

Tails noticed her expression and sighed. "I know Cream; I'm not paying much attention to you today. I apologize; I just wanted to find that Emerald first so we could go somewhere romantic while not on a mission." The rabbit's eyes lit up.

She locked her hand with his, causing the fox to blush. "Okay, Tails. I believe you. I'm sorry for thinking that way about you, I just thought you…didn't care about me anymore…" A tear leaked from her eye.

Tails moved his next to Cream and looked her in the eyes. "Cream, I would never act like that on purpose. You are beautiful, kind, caring, and nothing could replace you in my life."

Cream's face flushed red as she noticed he was barely two inches away from her. She could feel his warm breath on her face. "Tails...I…—"

The rabbit never finished what she was saying due to his warm lips upon hers. It started out as a friendly kiss, but when he was about to pull away, Cream leaned into it. They were still going when a waiter came up to them.

"Err…May I take your orders?" The pair broke off and blushed, not realizing he was there until now.

Tails quickly scanned the menu. "Yes, I'll have the Chicken Caesar Salad and a Diet Coke to drink, please," he spotted something on the menu that caught his eye, "and the Ice Cream a la roque."

The waiter looked at Cream. "I'll have a Chicken Caesar Salad also, and a root beer to drink."

"Very well, your meals will be out momentarily." And with that, he left, taking the menus with him.

Not two minutes later, two more waiters came by, placing the salads and the drinks in front of the lovers.

While they were eating, Cream spoke up. "Tails?"

He looked over at her, some dressing dripping from his lip. "Yes, Cream?"

She held out her fork, smiling. "Open up."

Tails looked confused at first, but obeyed. Cream fed him the salad, causing them both to blush deeply. Soon, the two were feeding each other until the salads were nothing more.

The waiters came by again and whisked the salad bowls away, this time leaving a large bowl of ice cream, topped off with…

"The Chaos Emerald!" they said together. Tails took it out of the ice cream and cleaned it off with a napkin.

"Well, that was a weird way to find the Emerald, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers," Tails stated.

Cream hugged the fox. "It's a good thing you decided to order that dessert!"

Tails embraced Cream, stroking her long ears. "We shouldn't let this delicious ice cream go to waste, but I don't think I can eat it all… Would you help me eat it, Cream?" He said with a smile.

She giggled. "Maybe," she teased, "but I'd have to get back to you for a sure answer."

Tails chuckled as he held out a spoon for her to eat off of. _Here we go again…_ he thought.

Neither of them noticed the black hedgehog that was hiding behind a newspaper at a nearby table. He spoke into a microphone. "Chaos Emerald in the possession of Tails. Mission failed, Doctor."

The ebony hedgehog heard a tinny voice in his ear. "Hrm…no problem. Return to base, Shadow."

_Elsewhere, with pink and blue hedgies…_

Amy woke up to the sound of Sonic crying. "Amy! Amy!"

She looked all around her, not seeing him anywhere. She looked out to the water to see him flailing his arms, trying to stay afloat.

Amy sprinted towards the ocean and dove under him just as his head went below water. Grasping him tightly, she brought him back to shore. _Oh no…_ she thought. Placing her head on his chest, she was horrified to hear no beat.

She leaned over the unconscious hedgehog and placed her mouth upon his. She breathed into him 6 times, and then pushed on his chest with two hands. Nothing happened. She repeated the process, but nothing happened again. On the third time she repeated it, Sonic coughed up some water and slowly opened his eyes. "A…my?"

She smiled, tears escaping her eyes once again. "Yes, Sonic I'm here for you. Don't worry."

He looked at his savior with large emerald eyes. "Th…than…thank y…you." He passed out.

Amy just sat there in complete shock. _Did he just thank me??? Sonic the Hedgehog thanked ME??? I've got to be dreaming…_ she pinched herself on the arm, then looked around her. _Well, I'm not dreaming…wow…but I thought he only learned how to say my name…_

Amy wondered about all of these predicaments when she remembered that the Chaos Emeralds had healing powers when used. She grabbed the Silver out of her bag, held it over the sleeping hedgehog, and concentrated on him being healed.

The Emerald glowed in her hand and, in front of her, Sonic glowed a similar color. All of a sudden, he shot awake, looking around him. He glanced to his left at Amy, who was whimpering.

Sonic walked over to Amy and hugged her. He reached up and wiped the tears from her face and said, "No cry Amy." She smiled and picked him up.

"Thank you, Sonic. Now, tell me how you got caught in the water. You should know you can't swim."

He pointed first at a bucket he had found, then at the ocean, and finally at the sandcastle he was building.

"Ohh, I see…you were getting some water to help the sand stick and make it easier to build."

He nodded, jumped out of her arms, and continued building. Amy looked at the watch she was wearing on her wrist. "Whoa! It's getting late! Sonic, we need to get back to Tails' house to plan how to invade Eggman's base!"

She made a grab at him, but he jumped out of the way. "Noooooo!" He whined.

Amy put her hands on her hips and said, "Now Sonic, I don't want to force you to come, but I will if I have to. Now let's go!"

This time, when Amy tried to pick him up, he ran down the beach, yelling, "No no no no no!" She was a little shocked at how fast he could run at that age, but she chased him down. "Sonic, you get back here!"

The blue blur was fast, but Amy ran at her top speed along the sand. She saw that, unlike roads or grass, running on sand was hard as it slowed her down. _Hmm…this reminds me of the good old times when I used to chase Sonic all over the place…_ she thought. Eventually, she caught up to him and snatched him up in her arms. "Gotcha!" Sonic tried to struggle and release himself, but she had a strong grip. He eventually gave up and relaxed.

"See Sonic, isn't it easier when you let me have my way?" Amy tickled his peach-colored belly. Sonic laughed while trying to push her hands away, eventually having to resort to tickling her back. Amy was laughing so hard that she almost dropped him, but she held her grip. Soon, the two hedgehogs fell on the sand, each trying to tickle the other first.

A while later, they were too tired to continue and fell on their backs, panting and laughing. Amy walked over and picked up Sonic. "Ready to go home, Sonikku?" He leaned over and gave Amy a kiss on the cheek. She giggled as she handed over the Chaos Emerald to the toddler. "Think you can Chaos Control us back to Tails' house?"

He nodded and closed his eyes while focusing on teleporting them. The two hedgehogs reopened their eyes to see the welcoming sight of Tails' living room. Amy was about to say something when she heard, "…I ask you this now."

She looked over and saw Knuckles and Rouge by the doorway. To her eternal surprise, Knuckles was on his knee before Rouge and was opening the box he held in his hands. _No….he couldn't be…_ she thought as he opened the box. Inside was a piece of the Master Emerald attached to a ring. _Oh my god, he is!_ Knuckles continued, "Rouge the Bat, will you marry me?"

Rouge just stood there, gaping at the echidna. "Knuckles…" Amy just stood there, waiting for Rouge to answer. "I've waited a long time for you to ask me that! Of course I'll marry you!"

Amy felt a surge of joy for them as she saw Rouge embrace Knuckles in a bone-crushing hug. She watched as the crimson echidna slipped the ring onto Rouge's finger, and the pink hedgehog silently thought to herself, _this is a special moment for them…We should probably go back to my house for a while._

Amy tiptoed to the backdoor, still holding Sonic. She opened it, and exited the house. While she walked, she felt something wet on her arm. _Ugh…Sonic's diaper must have been wet from when he fell into the ocean. Or…something else…either way, I better change him once I get home…_

Arriving at her apartment, she got the last diaper she had in the cabinet and brought him to her room. She was relieved to find it was only the ocean water that was making it wet. Disposing of the old diaper in her kitchen, she returned to her room, only to see that Sonic was no longer there!

_Not this again…Why did he have to be the fastest thing alive?_ She searched her room, but he wasn't in there. As she was leaving the room, she saw a blur of blue pass by the door.

She went in the direction he went and saw him with nothing on, trying to stay on the opposite side of the table as her. Sonic giggled at her every try to catch him. Whenever she moved, he moved. _I can't do this forever…I've got to trick him somehow…That's it!_ An idea popped into her head.

She pretended to fall over and hurt her ankle. "Oww! My ankle! Oh, it hurts! Sonic, help me!" She smirked as her plan worked, and the toddler ran over to her side to see what was wrong.

She grabbed him. "Aha! You can't escape me!"

He struggled the whole time, but she eventually got the diaper on him. He even tried to escape by running out the door twice, but Amy caught him each time, eventually closing the door to stop all future attempts.

Just then, Sonic's stomach grumbled. Amy's did the same thing. She tickled him lightly and said, "I guess we're both hungry, huh Sonic? C'mon, let's go to the kitchen and I'll whip us up some chilidogs!" He cheered at her choice.

_Five chilidogs and a half hour later…_

Amy sat on the couch, watching T.V. with Sonic. She felt stuffed from all the chilidogs they ate. Just as she was about to change the channel, the phone rang.

Amy picked it up off the receiver. "Hello, Amy Rose!"

"Amyomigoshwecamebackfromnewyorkandknucklesproposedtomeandisaidyes!!"

Even though it was said too fast for Amy to follow, she recognized Rouge's voice. "What was that, Rouge? I didn't quite catch it!" She smirked; she knew immediately what Rouge was going to tell her.

The bat on the other line took a few deep breaths. "We came…back from…New York City and…Knuckles…he proposed to me, and I said yes!"

Amy squealed into the phone. "Oh, Rouge I'm so happy for you! What kind of jewel did he get for the ring?"

Amy could almost picture Rouge's eyes sparkling. "I didn't know what it was at first; until he told me that it was a piece of the MASTER EMERALD!"

The pink hedgie just couldn't believe it. "The Master Emerald? He took a piece of the thing his whole life was to guard, and gave it to you? Rouge, he really does love you!"

"Uh-huh! Anyways, Tails and Cream just walked in. You both should come over now."

Amy agreed and hung up. She had to almost drag Sonic away from the television, which was showing an episode of Sonic X at the time. (As if you didn't see that coming)

Amy rocked Sonic in her arms, trying to make him fall asleep. When that didn't work, she began to softly stroke his quills. He smiled as his eyes half-closed, then eventually shut completely. Even though he was asleep, she continued to stroke his head, moving up to behind his ears. When she felt a soft vibrating coming from him, she listened closely to hear Sonic purring out of delight.

Amy chuckled as she continued her walk to Tails' house.


	8. Romance in the 'Hood

**Sorry for the corny title, it was just something that came to mind.**

**Thanks to all of you that read and reviewed! I was surprised to see this on so many alerts and faves!**

**Once again, thank you and now, Chapter 8!**

**WARNING! FLUFF ALERT!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

**Chapter 8 – Romance in the 'Hood**

Amy and Sonic knocked on the front door. When no one answered, Amy opened the door herself and walked into Tails living room to find the couples kissing on the couch. Amy giggled, and then cleared her throat loudly to get their attention. "A-HEM!"

Everyone jumped about a foot in the air before landing back on the couch. Tails spoke up first; "Oh, Amy! We…uh…didn't hear you come in!"

The two hedgehogs sat down next to Tails. Rouge took out a paper from her bag.

"These are the blueprints of Eggman's base, retrieved from the government's database. As you can see, there are motion-sensors, armed robot patrols, and even DNA-coded cannons. Obviously, he has input our DNA into the cannons so that they will fire if any of us get into the base. Eggman's not taking any chances this time. What's our plan, Tails?" Everyone looked at the fox.

"I can hack into Eggman's computer and turn off the motion-sensors and DNA cannons, but I need to be on-site to do this. The robots shouldn't be too much of a problem; we can fight them. The only problem is that we need all of us to make this work."

Amy looked puzzled. "Why is that a problem?"

He gestured at the blue hedgehog. "Sonic is obviously not capable of going on this mission at that age. Someone would need to stay and watch him."

With this, Sonic made a frowning face and spoke up. "NO! Tails, me wanna go!"

The fox looked absolutely shocked. "You can understand me? And you can speak more than one word? How can this be? The only things that can undo the age reduction effects are the Chaos Emeralds…"

Amy thought for a minute, _The Chaos Emeralds…at the beach when I healed him…Did he…?_ "Tails, what would have happened if an Emerald was used to heal him from an injury? Would it also bring his age up slightly?"

Tails nodded. "I suppose that could have happened. Why do you ask? Did you heal him at some point during your mission?"

"After we got the Silver Emerald, Sonic Chaos Controlled us to some beach somewhere. He accidentally got into the water and was drowning. I saved him and then used it to heal him," Amy replied while pulling out the Chaos Emerald.

Tails put all six of the Chaos Emeralds they had gathered on the table. "The Emeralds have the power to heal the user of any ailments they might have. I think Sonic was aged by about a year and a half when one was used on him. All seven will give us the power to bring him back to 15, but six might be able to age him to about 8 or 9 years old." His ears perked up, suddenly. "And that might just be old enough to take him on the mission!"

Cream spoke up for the first time since Amy came. "How are we going to make sure they increase his age? He could easily just use them to Chaos Control away again…"

Sonic shook his head. "No, me stay!"

Tails placed the royal blue hedgehog on the table, and placed the six Emeralds around him. "Ready, Sonic?"

He nodded and closed his eyes. Each of the Chaos Emeralds rose and circled around him slowly. Suddenly a bright light surrounded his body, causing the observers to shield their eyes.

As the light faded away and the Chaos Emeralds lowered, everyone stood there, waiting to see if it worked. Amy was the first who decided to speak. "Sonic? Are you okay?"

The last of the light disappeared. In the place where the toddler was no more than a minute ago was a hedgehog who looked only a few years younger than Cream. He looked to be unconscious, probably due to the rapid acceleration of his age and body. Amy, instinctively, rushed over to his side.

"Sonic! Sonic! Wake up!" Just then, he began to stir. His eyes registered the first thing he saw: the pink hedgehog hovering over him.

"Hey, Ames," Sonic grinned from ear to ear. "How are ya doing?"

Amy helped him stand, and then embraced her young hero in a near bone-crushing hug. He blushed slightly, but wrapped his arms around her anyway. "Thank God that worked, Sonic! I was afraid I was going to lose you!" Sonic could hear her voice about to break.

He didn't want to see her cry, so he leaned next to her ear and whispered, "I would never leave you, Amy."

Tails did not want to break up their special moment. Luckily, he didn't have to.

"Hey Sonic! You feeling all right, man—OWW!" Rouge slapped Knuckles on the back of the head. "Knuckles, they were having a moment! Sheesh, you're so dense sometimes."

Sonic and Amy reluctantly released from the embrace, while Tails went on to discuss the plan. "So here's what we're going to do…"

_Later, After Plan is Discussed…_

"…and Sonic can Chaos Control us out of there once we get the Emerald. Anybody have any questions?"

Nobody spoke up. "Get a good night's sleep everybody; we need to strike at just the right time for this to work."

As everyone was leaving, Sonic approached Amy. "Amy, do you mind if I spend the night at your house? I need to talk with you about something."

She blushed. _Sonic wants to stay with me? _"Of course, Sonic; anything I can help with, just ask me."

He picked her up, bridal style. _Oof…I'm not as strong as I was when I was 15…I hope I can still do this… _"Ready to go, Amy?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling her face into his chest. A few minutes later, they were at her apartment. Sonic let her down, and she opened the door and walked in. Closing the door behind him, she said, "Okay, we're here. What did you want to talk to me about, Sonikku?"

He motioned for her to follow him to the couch. Once there, he took her hand in his own. Another blush from the pink hedgehog. "Amy, we have known each other for a long time and we have been friends for that long also. You and I both know that I would protect you, no matter what bad things happened. However, you never got to show me if you could protect me as well; until now."

She looked into his emerald pupils with her brilliant jade eyes. "What are you saying, Sonic?"

He gulped, thinking of what to say next. "Even when I was a year old, I understood and knew everything that was going on around me. When Tails' machine made me a baby, you were the only one kind enough to take me in. Not even Tails, my best friend would do it. You took care of me, you looked after me, you fed me, you changed me, you even saved me, and you did everything you could to make me feel like I was home. Like I…belonged." He moved closer to Amy on the couch. "I love you, Amy Rose. I love you with all of my heart. I always have; I always will."

Amy almost didn't believe what she was hearing. He loved her? She let the tears roll down her cheeks, looking away. "Sonic…I don't know if I believe you. I mean you've avoided me and run away from me so many times…" Sonic looked like he was heartbroken. Amy continued. "I don't know how I can truly believe you."

He had an idea. Moving right next to her, he moved her head to look back at him. "Then…believe this." Their lips met, and Amy knew instantly that he was not lying. She felt like she would melt in his arms. _Oh my god…he's kissing me! I've waited all my life for this moment…_ she thought to herself. After few minutes they broke off in need of air, much to the displeasure of Amy.

He smiled at her. "Believe me now?" She put her finger to her chin, pretending to think about it and grinned one of the grins that Sonic loved.

"I suppose…but you'll need to give me some reassurance," Amy said with a devilish smile.

Sonic played with her bangs, saying, "If you insist, my sweet rose…" He kissed her again; this time licking her lips, begging for an entrance. She opened her lips enough to let him slide his tongue in. The passionate kiss went on for several more moments until Sonic felt his stomach growl loudly.

Amy giggled. "Hungry, Sonikku?" He nodded, rubbing his empty stomach. They walked into the kitchen where Amy made chilidogs, just the way Sonic liked them.

He looked into her eyes deeply. "That's another thing I love about you, Amy. You're cooking is," he searched for the right word, "Phenomenal! I mean, even some of the best places I know that sell chilidogs don't make them as good as you do!"

She blushed at his kind comment. "Thanks, Sonic! That means a lot to me!"

The rest of the meal was pretty quiet. When they finished, Amy took the plates to the sink and began to wash them. Sonic walked next to her and helped, by drying off and putting away the ones she had finished.

Amy looked confused. "What are you doing?"

He smiled at her. "Well, you shouldn't have to do all of this by yourself, so I wanted to help you with it!" Amy put down the dish she was washing and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, thank you, Sonikku! No one has ever offered to help me while I'm working!"

"It's no problem, Ames; anything for you!" Sonic kissed her on the cheek, causing the pink hedgehog to blush a deep red.

After the dishes, Amy put on a romance movie, and Sonic sat down next to her while they watched. There were a few scenes where Amy 'Aww'ed, and a while later Sonic felt something on his shoulder. He looked down to see Amy, asleep while leaning on him.

Sonic gently picked her up, careful not to wake her, and walked up to her room. Laying her on the bed and pulling the covers over her, he looked at the sleeping hedgehog. _Wow…she looks so beautiful when she sleeps…_ he thought. Brushing away a few of her bangs from her face, he leaned over Amy to kiss her on the forehead. "Goodnight, my sweet rose. Sleep well…"

Sonic walked back to the living room and, after a while of watching some cartoons, fell asleep. The television was still turned on.

Amy tossed and turned in her sleep, her mind troubled with many different problems. She slowly woke up to find herself in her room. _Sonic must have brought me in here after I fell asleep_, she thought as she got out of bed. Hearing a sound from the living room, Amy walked out to find the television on and Sonic asleep on the couch. She walked over to turn the television off, and then sat down next to him. As she stroked his quills, he shivered. At first she thought it was herself, but then Amy noticed that he didn't even have a blanket covering him.

She walked over to her closet and removed a particularly warm blanket, which she laid over the sleeping hedgehog. Amy saw him immediately stop shivering and smile under the blanket. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Night, Sonikku..." She walked back to her room and fell asleep.

**I know I kinda went off-track of the whole 'Hedgebaby' thing, but I thought it seemed like a good idea at the time...If you dissagree, please say so!**

**R&R! Next chapter should be up before May 20, but I can't make any promises. Until Chap. 9, see ya!**


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